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Q: Surely I can win with I Alone Survived even if I have a zombie, as long as Zombies Ain’t So Bad is in play… but wait… other people’s zombies are also Not-So-Bad… Can I win?

…Here is the scenario: the Rule Zombies Ain’t So Bad is in effect, and every player has at least one zombie. The player who has the Car and no Friends plays the Goal I Alone Survived, which states that, in order to win, the player must have the Car, no Friends, and be the only player with no zombies (which is negated by the Zombies Ain’t So Bad Rule). The question is, in this situation, would the player with the Car and no Friends win, or, since Zombies Ain’t So Bad, is it fair to say that they would not be the only survivor, and the game continues?…

A: We agree with your second outcome, which is that, if Zombies Ain’t So Bad (ZASB), then there are plenty of other survivors, and you are not fulfilling the intent of the Goal I Alone Survived (IAS). I mean, if having zombies doesn’t affect the win conditions, is there really any difference between having them and not having them? (Hold on, dear reader – it turns out there IS, apparently, still a difference…)

WELL, I brought up to Andy that this raises an even thornier question: So does this mean that one simply can’t win with IAS, if ZASB is in play, because everybody else is also Surviving, with their Not-So-Bad Zombies? What if I am the only person with no zombies, and everyone else does have them? Honestly, I’m thinking that nobody would even think to question the outcome if one claimed victory in that scenario, since one is clearly meeting the stated win conditions… and yet I feel that we should address it.

He ruled that, in that case, you CAN claim victory with I Alone Survived, because, even if Zombies Ain’t So Bad… they’re still kind of annoying, so you really are in a superior position if you don’t have to deal with them. So if ZASB is in play, then the Goal basically becomes I Alone Remain Unpestered by Bothersome Zombies (IARUbBZ).

Q: If I trade my Zombie Repellent with the Car owned by a zombie-afflicted player, can I win with I Alone Survived?

…Player A only has the Zombie Repellent sitting in front of her while Player B has the Car and a zombie. The Goal I Alone Survived is played, requiring just the Car and everyone else having zombies. During Player A’s turn, she plays Exchange Keepers and trades her Zombie Repellent for Player B’s Car. Some of the players in the game believed that Player A won instantly because at the moment she was the only one without zombies and met the Goal, but the others believed that Player B’s having received the Zombie Repellent would go instantly into effect – and he would have transferred his lone Zombie to Player A…

A: Player A does not win. Although it could be argued that there is a slight lag in both in story and gameplay while Player B sprays his repellent and decides where his zombie goes, we would rule that technically those things are simultaneous in terms of gameplay, and moreover, even story-wise the lag would not affect the long-term outcome: the car thief would not be the only one surviving. Here’s how we see the story playing out:

Sure, it makes sense that the repellent would take a little time to take effect, but this is irrelevant. If someone (Player A) literally ran up to you and your zombie and your car, and stole your car, tearing off with it into the distance, while tossing you their can of zombie repellent, saying “So long sucker!” who would win?

One might argue that Player A wins because you were temporarily “with zombie” and they were driving off with the car. That’s one answer – but we think you would survive in the end, since you have the repellent, so your car thief, player A, is not “Alone Surviving” to meet the stated intent of the Goal.

Q: If Dead Friends and Zombies Ain’t So Bad are both in effect, can I win with Goals requiring Friends?

See this answer as a video!
Ain’t So Bad

A: One could argue that your Zombified Friends are still Friends,
since Zombies Ain’t So Bad.
–Or–
One could argue that once your Friends are Zombified, it’s simply impossible to win with ANY Goal requiring Friends, even if Zombies Ain’t So Bad, since, really, they may not be so bad, but they’re not your friends anymore, they’re zombies. How many people describe their friends as “not so bad”? That’s hardly enthusiastic, you know?

So let’s ask ourselves how many of their Friend-attributes they maintain in Zombified form, such that they would meet the various Goals in a thematic sense:

• Zombie Food: are Zombified Friends Zombie Food?
Not really. Zombies don’t eat each other.

• Barricade the Windows: Could my Zombified Friends help me Barricade the Windows?
Maybe. Depends how hard it is to do that task. It would probably be hard.

• Getaway Driver: Can my Zombified Friends drive a car?
We’re gonna go with a big “no” on that one. Seriously doubtful.

and finally…

• We’re All All Right: Are my Zombified Friends “All Right”?
I don’t care how “not so bad” Zombies are, my Zombified Friends are definitely NOT “all right”.

TLDR:
The short answer from Andy himself is the second answer: if Dead Friends is in play, you can’t win with ANY Goal requiring Friends, because they’re not Friends any more, they’re zombies, even if they’re really nice Zombies. Sorry.

Q: Do Keepers fighting in The Arena come from your hand, or from in play in front of you? What if there’s only one Keeper on the table at all?

A: The Keepers offered up for combat have to already be in play in front of someone. You do not have to offer up a Keeper from your hand into the Arena.

When in doubt, the general rule with things applying to Keepers is that the Keeper has to be in play in order to be able to “do things”. Usually that means using special powers, but in this case, being in play is what obligates a Keeper to fight in the Arena. Not being in play frees the Keeper from any such obligations.

If there are not enough combatants (there is only one Keeper in play) that entity simply wins by default. They stick their head in the Arena, see that there’s nobody there trying to kill them, breathe a sigh of relief, and get the heck out of there.

Q: If I’m using my Laser Pistol to shoot another player’s Keeper-with-Creeper, and they have the Expendable Crewman, what happens?

Does this negate the Laser Pistol power (as the Expendable Crewman has no Creeper attached)
-or-
Do we discard the Creeper (attached to a different Keeper) and the Expendable Crewman?
-or-
Do we discard the Expendable Crewman only?

See this question in a video!
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 1
Our Friend The Expendable Crewman, Part 2

A: The Expendable Crewman’s powers take precedence over the Laser Pistol’s. So even though you aimed and shot the Laser Pistol at the Keeper/Creeper combo, the Expendable Crewman leapt (tripped?) into the line of fire, and was offed instead, leaving the Keeper/Creeper combo still there to be dealt with some other way. Note that in Star Trek Fluxx, Ensign Smith functions as the Expendable Crewman, and in TNG Fluxx, Tasha Yar has that power.

So, knowing this, you might choose not to even point the Laser Pistol in that direction, knowing that annoying Expendable Crewman is hanging around – but that’s up to you.

(Keep in mind that if you’re the one with the Expendable Crewman, AND the Laser Pistol or Sword, you’re free to target your own Keeper-with-Creeper, without accidentally hitting your own Expendable Crewman. If the shot is coming from within his own ship, he will dutifully follow directions, and stand aside, letting the attack go through. It’s only when outside forces threaten that he gets flustered or over-brave.)

Q: After I’ve been revealed as the Secret Cultist, can I still win on an UnGoal?

I know I lose my next turn, but is that ability still available to me?

A: You can only win with the Secret Cultist if you are playing it as an out-of-turn play. If you are forced to play it as an actual in-turn play, you take the penalty instead of the out-of-play ability. Thematically, the idea is that you’ve been exposed as the Secret Cultist and your plans are therefore ruined. They locked you up until you came to your senses (your lost turn) and you no longer worship the Ancient Ones.

Note that if you play the Secret Cultist as a counter-Surprise, it does not count as using its in-turn function, and does not “reveal” you, so you don’t take the penalty. It’s more like you were a Secret Cultist for a while, but then you got tired of hanging out with those losers, and just decided to leave on your own.

Either way, whether you’re thinking about it thematically or not, there’s no way you could retain that special status/ability. Since you can only claim your Secret Cultist win by playing it out-of-turn after the game ends with an UnGoal, you need to still have it in your hand when that happens. If you’ve already played it in any fashion, that card has been used up, and is now in the discard pile. You’re no longer the Secret Cultist. In fact, if the discard pile is reshuffled, someone else might end up with it in their hand, in which case THEY would be the (as yet unrevealed) Secret Cultist. You’re just some failed has-been wannabe Secret Cultist (or successful survivor of a dangerous cult experience!)

Q: Please explain how Metamorphosis and Madness impair Keepers in Cthulhu Fluxx.

A: The Keepers in Cthulhu Fluxx that have special powers (meaning there is some ability which could be impaired) include:

The Dreamer (cure Nightmares anywhere on the table, whether attached or not)
The Reanimator (steal The Body, if in play)
The Socialite (steal The Poet, if in play)
The Sanitarium (cure Nightmares or Madness if attached to your Keepers)
The Elder Sign (hide, i.e. neutralize any one unattached Creeper)
The Necronomicon (move any Creeper from player to player, then put the Necronomicon back in your hand)
The Ghoul (discard The Body, if it is in front of you)
The Cultist (win if in play when The Dunwich Horror Ungoal causes everyone else to lose)

Here is a flavor-text interpretation:

Regarding Madness (which only affects Investigators)
The Dreamer, Reanimator and Socialite can’t do any of that nifty stuff they do if they have gone Insane. Easy. dRemember that Nightmares don’t impair the Keeper, so The Dreamer can still get rid of them, even if he’s the one who has them.

Regarding Metamorphosis (which can attach to ANY Keeper)
If a Keeper starts to Metamorphose, it just can’t function the way it should. A Metamorphosed Sanitarium probably isn’t going to cure your Madness or your Nightmares (in fact, it will probably make them worse) and neither will a Metamorphosed Dreamer. The Socialite just isn’t going to be particularly attractive to The Poet once she starts turning into a frog-person.

There are some other theming issues that are raised with Metamorphosis, however, because it is so far-reaching (attaches to any Keeper).

For example, does it really make sense that Wilbur Whately wouldn’t win if The Dunwich Horror occurred, just because he was Metamorphosed? I thought a main quality of this personage was that he was pretty darn metamorphosed to begin with. Also, somehow I thought a Metamorphosed Ghoul would still eat Dead Bodies.

I consulted Andy on this, however, and he had to conclude that, while it does not necessarily make the best thematic sense, the rule with regards to gameplay, is quite clear: those special abilities are lost if that Keeper is Metamorphosed. Maybe they start morphing into something NICER than they were before!

Ghoul: “My tummy feels funny! That Dead Body just doesn’t look that appetizing anymore…”

Wilbur: “OMG where are my abdominal tentacles?! Dad’s* totally not going to recognize me without them! I am SO toast…”

* For those less familiar with The Dunwich Horror, Wilbur Whately is the abomination of a son resulting from a human woman bearing the child of an Elder God. Wilbur is trying to summon his father, Yog Sothoth, to the Earthly plane.

Q: If the Federal Agents have Metamorphosis attached, can they use their power to get rid of it?

A: Metamorphosis (and Madness) specifically state that any special powers of the Keeper they are attached to are nullified, so the Feds cannot “cure themselves” of either one. Note that in order to use their special power, you sacrifice the Feds Keeper, so in this case, it makes them seem oddly sane that they don’t want to kill themselves even when they go Mad or start to Metamorphose.

Nightmares, on the other hand, while they do attach, do not impair the Keeper, so the Feds could “kill themselves” to “cure” themselves of Nightmares. This would be perfectly effective, gameplay-wise, though it does seem a bit drastic, thematically:

“Agent Jones is having terrible nightmares, Sir!”
“Well, clearly, the only way to solve this case is to kill him, even if it means taking some casualties ourselves….”
“I’ll assemble a team, Sir!”

Q: How does Crazy Joe work in ÜberChrononauts?

A: In regular Chrononauts, the game ends immediately if the Universe is destroyed, with everyone losing – unless Crazy Joe was in the game, in which case he wins. However, in UberChrononauts, the game wouldn’t be able to continue if Crazy Joe meets his goal, and since the UberGoal requires you to accomplish more than just your character’s conditions, the universe needs to be kept from collapsing in order for the game to work.

Fortunately, there’s this special team of Time Police agents, who have been pursuing Crazy Joe across the timestream for eons, who will suddenly show up to solve this problem if it occurs.

Here’s what happens: Crazy Joe is credited with having destroyed the Universe, which teeters on the brink of destruction but doesn’t actually collapse. (The player keeps the ID card face up on the table thereafter, indicating that this part of the UberGoal is complete.) Then the Time Police rule described below is used to put the TimeLine back in order enough for the game to continue. (And while they’re busy keeping Time intact, Crazy Joe gets away scot-free! Laughing maniacally, of course.)

The Time Police Rule:
If the Universe is on the brink of destruction, and it would be awkward for the game to end without an actual winner, a special team of Time Police agents will suddenly step in to save the universe. This is done by giving all players an imaginary Restore History card, which each player must immediately use in turn on the Red Linchpin of their choice. After everyone has done their share of repair work, the Time Police will vanish and the game continues as usual with the next player. But the Time Police will not return. If the Universe is destroyed a second time, it really does get destroyed, and all players are considered losers.

Q: Can someone Memo a Memo?

i.e. can you stop someone playing a “Memo to Your Future Self” by playing a Memo or using the Cake card’s Memo ability?

A: Yes, a Memo can indeed be used to stop another Memo. And it’s mighty satisfying when you do! This also applies to the similar cards found in the Back To The Future card game.

“Looks like I Got There First to your dinosaur trap, and captured that Stegosaurus you thought you had.”

“Oh no you didn’t, because I sent a Memo to myself, telling me that you’d get there before me, so I got there 15 minutes before you, so actually, I still have Steggy.”

“Oh yeah? Well I sent myself a Memo telling me that you were going to get there 15 minutes before I got there before you, so I got there 15 minutes before you got there 15 minutes before me getting there before you, so actually, the dino is mine…”

Q: Why don’t Brain Parasites impair the Keeper? And if they don’t impair, why can’t the Doctor cure himself?

A: No. Brain Parasites don’t inhibit their host Keeper’s power, but in the case of the Doctor, he cannot treat himself. As the card says, he can only discard Brain Parasites if attached to one of your other cards.” Of course, if you have the promo card The Android Doctor, then he can cure the Doctor of Brain Parasites, and vice versa (the Doctor could cure the Robo-Doc). Like the Doctor himself, however, the Robo-Doc can’t cure himself either.

Here’s the full thematic explanation of why Brain Parasites don’t inhibit Keepers’ abilities, but they DO keep the Doctor from healing himself:

The reason is not due to the fact that he’s lost his curative powers. If you have Brain Parasites, then your every action will be subject to the whims of these aliens who have invaded your head. The Brain Parasites might WANT the Engineer to repair that computer. They might WANT the Captain to steal the Scientist. After all, they don’t want to do stuff that’s bad for their host, right?

But it simply doesn’t make sense for them to ever allow the Doctor to use his curative powers to evict themselves from his own cozy cranium. In fact, if there were multiple Brain Parasite Creepers in the game, the Brain Parasites would, logically, bar the Doc from curing anyone of Brain Parasites (which would effectively nullify the Doctor, since in this game that’s apparently the only curable disease in known space.)

PS: The real question in my mind is why the Brain Parasites don’t nullify the powers of The Expendable Crewman, since his “power” is that he frequently gets himself kidnapped or killed. Kidnapped is fine… I can totally imagine a scenario where the Brain Parasite might want it’s host to get stolen and taken to another ship (“Oh goody, we shall spread to a whole new crew!”). But one of the possible (though perhaps drastic) ways to get rid of an attaching Creeper is to destroy the host Keeper, and the Expendable Crewman’s power is to somehow step into the line of fire, even when he’s not the intended target. Maybe the “power” of the Expendable Crewman is just so strong that even having his mind controlled by an alien being can’t keep him from being a hot-headed klutz.

Q: Does Evil cause the Keeper that it’s attached to not to work?

A: No. (If that were the case, the card would say so.)

Thematically, it actually works quite well, sometimes BETTER if the Keeper is Evil. I think if you were using the Dark Side of the Unseen Force you’d be even more likely to mess with people’s heads. If you were a Bad Guy Space Captain it would totally be in character for you to shanghai other people’s Crew Members. And just because you’re an Evil Engineer doesn’t mean you can’t fix that Malfunctioning Robot – I mean, it might be your Killer Death Robot! You could be an Evil Doctor seeking to eradicate the peaceful Brain Parasite species. See, it totally works.

Evil also occurs in Fantasy Fluxx, where it is the only Attaching Creeper. Again, there’s no reason why it should cause anything to not work. The Magic Wand still turns any non-magical being into a Spellcaster, whether Evil is attached to the Person or the Wand, it makes no difference. There really aren’t any thematic reasons it should impair the Keeper either: there are plenty of Evil Spellcasters in the literature, evil Magic Rings (the most famous one does, in fact, turn one invisible, no less!) Evil Dragons, Evil Pirates, and so forth. Sadly, Evil is versatile, and seems to “work” with everything…